PROBLEMS
ANTICIPATED
I was cognizant of the fact that not everyone in my class might have family from another country to interview. In particular, I thought of certain students in my class whose close family was not from another country and who might not even know for certain the story of their family’s migration to the United States. I have several students who are Black and whose families I’m aware do not include any recent immigrants. I wondered if they would feel excluded or alienated by the assignment.
My consideration of this influenced not only the way that I designed the assignment but also the way that I designed the unit. In both, I was very explicit with the students that we were exploring the questions of ‘why people leave home and how they create a new home.’ I explained in the assignment description that ‘leaving home’ could mean that a family member had moved from one country to another country—or from one city to another city. I also included many statements in the assignment description that told the kids to ask for help from me if they needed it. ‘Ms. Kover is more than happy to help if you have any questions or difficulties with this assignment.’ For students who faced challenges in finding someone to interview I encouraged them to, ‘speak to Ms. Kover and she will help you find someone.’ I emphasized these points over and over when I described the assignment to the students because I did not want students (or parents) to feel that I was being culturally blind.
Family Interview assignment description that I distributed in the weekly homework packet:
In the back of my mind, though, I continued to wonder if framing the question in this way was the ‘right’ solution--or instead a superficial patch to a defect in the assignment. I recalled a multiple-choice question that I’d seen on the PreK-4 Pennsylvania Certification Exam that I’d taken in February. The question presented the scenario of a teacher assigning a family heritage assignment to her students, knowing full well that not all students would be able to complete it. It asked test-takers to consider if it was best for the teacher to provide adapted, alternate versions of the assignment to help those who might struggle to complete it—or to not assign it at all. It was clear to me that the fictional teacher on the exam was not supposed to assign the project at all if not everyone could flourish. This moment from the exam gnawed at me while I considered whether to use the family interview assignment in my own classroom or not.
In spite of this, I went ahead with the project determined to find a way around the weaknesses and work out a way to make it meaningful for all of my students.
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